WESTMINSTER, CO. – FEBRUARY 13, 2014: Traffic moved on U.S. 36 in Broomfield Thursday afternoon. A public meeting on a proposed 50-year agreement between the Colorado Department of Transportation and Plenary Roads Denver on maintenance and operation of U.S. 36 was held at the former Sam’s Club building in Louisville Thursday night, February 13, 2104. Photo By Karl Gehring/The Denver Post

A group of state lawmakers are asking for a state audit of the controversial public-private deal reached to widen and collect tolls on U.S. 36 between Denver and Boulder.

The request was made Tuesday by Rep. Mike Foote, a Lafayette Democrat, and 14 other state legislators in a letter to the Legislative Audit Committee and State Auditor Dianne Ray.

Foote said the audit was needed “to assure the public interest is protected in present and future public-private partnerships.”

“I’m asking for this audit because the people deserve trustworthy answers to the many questions they have regarding the U.S. 36 project,” Foote said. “A state audit will clear up the confusion and give us guidance about the proper role of public-private partnerships in transportation development in Colorado.”

The public-private pact between the Colorado Department of Transportation — and the state’s High Performance Transportation Enterprise — and Plenary Roads Denver drew heavy fire earlier this year from some who said it was created in secret and without public comment.

Under the 50-year-deal, Plenary Roads Denver will complete the second phase of the upgrades to U.S. 36 between Boulder and Broomfield and then collect tolls on the High Occupancy Lanes the company will build.

The lawmakers ask that the audit analyze several things about the agreement including:

• The procedures followed by the HPTE when deciding on the Phase 2 agreement, including any solicitation of public input;

• The procedures followed by the HPTE when soliciting comment from the General Assembly and informing the legislature about the Phase 2 agreement;

• The financial details of the U.S. 36 Phase 2 agreement including a review of the HPTE’s disclosure of those details to the public and General Assembly; and

• Any penalties the HPTE would have incurred had the U.S. 36 Phase 2 agreement been delayed and whether the existence of those penalties have implications on the Constitutional oversight duties of the General Assembly.

A bill introduced last week by State Sen. Matt Jones of Louisville — SB 197 — also calls for more transparency in future public-private partnership agreements.

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